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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29136000">Beyond the Yellow Brick Road</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitana/pseuds/mitana'>mitana</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Stay in the Car Chronicles [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Scarecrow and Mrs. King</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:15:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,888</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29136000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitana/pseuds/mitana</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lee suffers from insomnia while dealing with two different cases, and makes an important decision about his future.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amanda King/Lee Stetson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Stay in the Car Chronicles [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137956</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Beyond the Yellow Brick Road</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This one-shot takes place early in season 3, in October 1985. It’s after the events of We’re Off to See the Wizard and before/during the events of Over the Limit; going by airdates, Lee hasn’t moved into the Q Bureau yet. (Let’s assume there are a few extra days in-between the episodes since WOtStW took a couple days and Billy says that Lee’s been coming in late/tired four days in a row at the beginning of OtL). I’m also setting the case from All That Glitters here (concurrent with the OtL storyline) instead of season 4, so Lee and Amanda aren’t together yet. I thought this would be a quick one-shot, but it ended up being much more involved than I expected.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lee Stetson checked his watch as he waited for the elevator to arrive. <em>Damn!  Late again! </em>He’d missed most of the morning briefing yesterday, but it had turned out to be alright since there hadn’t been anything going on that involved him.  He hoped there wasn’t anything he was needed for today, either.  He was exhausted. He hadn’t been getting much sleep lately.</p>
<p>Billy had given him two days off after the Serdeych op had gone down (the only requirement being a couple sessions with Dr. Pfaff), but he’d gone to an embassy party on the night after, Saturday, and met the lovely Leslie O’Connor.  They had gone out on a date the next night, too.  The date hadn’t even gone that late because she had had to work early the next day.  But when he got into bed, he had tossed and turned, unable to get his mind to shut down. He finally drifted off sometime after 3 AM. That had been the night before last, and he had stumbled into work yesterday morning almost an hour late.</p>
<p>And then last night, it had happened again.  Leslie hadn’t been available, and lately he’d been somewhat disenchanted by his normal “lady-friends,” so he’d stayed home, thinking that maybe he could make up for some lost sleep by going to bed early. So much for that idea.  Despite feeling run down, he’d been unable to fully relax.  He tried drinking some scotch, watched some mindless television, tried starting the new novel he’d been wanting to read since he’d picked it up a couple weeks ago; but even <em>Lonesome Dove</em> didn’t distract his mind enough to put him to sleep (and annoyingly, didn’t get him interested enough to keep reading, either).  Nothing worked.  He couldn’t figure out what was wrong.</p>
<p>Well, at least there was no briefing this morning, so even though he was late (<em>but not as late as yesterday</em>), he could just continue to work on the background checks he hadn’t finished yesterday.  Maybe Amanda would be in later and they could go to lunch.  That was something to look forward to.  He hadn’t really had a chance to just <em>talk</em> with her since they’d brought down Serdeych, and he wondered what she’d been up to.</p>
<p>As he sat down at his desk, he ran his hand distractedly through his hair and tried to get into work mode.  He hated paperwork.</p>
<p>**SMK**</p>
<p>Unfortunately, tying up some loose ends from his background checks brought him out of the office for hours, and by the time he got back, he found that Amanda had already left. </p>
<p>“You missed her.  She was typing away transcribing some tapes, but then she got a call from one of her sons’ schools that he needed to be picked up,” Francine informed him.</p>
<p>“Which one? Philip or Jamie?  What happened?  Is anyone hurt?” Lee hoped the boys were okay.</p>
<p>Francine rolled her eyes.  “You expect me to pay attention to that?  Lee, my desire to know about the suburban goings-on of Amanda King is about as strong as my desire to get a root canal.”</p>
<p>“Surely you heard <em>something…</em>”</p>
<p>She waved her hand at him, unconcerned.  “Ask Billy.  All I know is, after the phone call, she went in to talk to him, then left a few minutes later.”</p>
<p>“I’ll just do that, then.” He got up and marched into Billy’s office.</p>
<p>“Billy, what’s happening with Amanda?”</p>
<p>He held up one finger as he finished his phone call, then set the receiver down.</p>
<p>“Nothing to worry about, Lee.  Apparently Philip wasn’t feeling well, and the school called to have her come pick him up.”  The section chief was pleased (and somewhat amused) to see Lee concerning himself with the welfare of Amanda’s boys, but tried not to smile.  “I told her she was free to take the tapes with her and work from home after she picked him up.”</p>
<p>Lee felt a swell of disappointment that he had missed her.  Between her having the day off yesterday, and him having the two days before that off, plus the weekend, it felt like forever since he’d seen her. </p>
<p>“Oh, okay.  I guess I’ll see her tomorrow, then.” <em>Or maybe I’ll stop by tonight, after work…</em></p>
<p>Billy nodded knowingly. “Don’t you have some work to do?” he asked, waving him out of his office.</p>
<p>Sighing, Lee left, missing Billy’s chuckle as the door closed.</p>
<p>**SMK**</p>
<p>The rest of the day was spent tediously completing the background checks he had begun the day before. The only mental break he got was a short phone call to Leslie, who had been happy to accept his offer of dinner at his place tonight.</p>
<p>Looking at his watch, he let out a hiss of satisfaction and started putting the reports into file folders so he could turn them in to Billy.</p>
<p>“Scarecrow!” Billy called to him, trying to get his attention amongst the paper-rustling and conversation of agents and office workers about to hit quitting time.</p>
<p>Lee looked up and nodded, grabbing the stack of file folders and making his way toward Billy’s office.</p>
<p>“I was just about to bring these to you,” he stated as he handed the folders to Billy. </p>
<p>The section chief glanced through them, then nodded.  “Thanks for getting them done.”</p>
<p>Lee nodded his head, yawning, and turned toward the door, waving goodbye.</p>
<p>“Oh, Lee!”</p>
<p>The younger agent turned back, raising his eyebrows.  “What’s up, Billy?  I want to try to get a couple hours of sleep before my date tonight.”</p>
<p>“Amanda called.  She said she thinks Philip has the stomach flu and she isn’t going to be in tomorrow.”  Billy watched the concern bloom on Lee’s face.  “I asked her about the tapes she was working on earlier, and she said she had finished the transcriptions, so I asked her if she wanted to work from home tomorrow, too. She was happy to take the opportunity and offered to come in tomorrow morning to pick up the next set of tapes after bringing Jamie to school, but I told her not to worry about it and I’d have someone bring them to her.”</p>
<p>He picked up a small box containing four cassette tapes and held them out to Lee. “Here you go.”</p>
<p>“Billy…”</p>
<p>“You <em>were </em>going to stop over there after work anyway to check up on her, weren’t you?  I know that look you got earlier today.” The shorter man smiled beatifically and shook the box lightly.  “So now you can make yourself useful and save her a trip.”</p>
<p>Lee gave him a withering look and snatched the box out of Billy’s hand. As he turned to leave, he heard the section chief call out to him.  “Oh, and Lee?  Try to get that sleep before your date.  You look awful, man.”</p>
<p>Lee shook his head and continued walking over to his desk, where he pushed in his chair and grabbed his suit coat. With a wave at Francine, he walked out of the bullpen and headed toward the elevator.</p>
<p>**SMK**</p>
<p>He was here earlier than usual; it wasn’t even dark yet.  He would have to take extra precautions not to be seen. He parked up the block, grabbed the box of cassettes off the front seat, and walked nonchalantly down the street, looking around to check for watchers. He’d just slip around the side of the house, then make his way to the back door.</p>
<p>He had gone just far enough into the driveway to make it obvious he wasn’t just walking by when a cab pulled up to the house, and he groaned.  Of course, Dotty West would show up just as he was in the most visible position…</p>
<p>Making a quick decision, he turned and made his way to the front door.  Better to have a coworker show up to the front door than to have Mrs. West thinking he was some sort of stalker.</p>
<p>Just as he was reaching for the doorbell, she bustled up behind him.  “Don’t bother, I’ll get it.”</p>
<p>He turned to her, giving her his best smile, and she paused. “Oh, my.” She gave him a smile back, looking him up and down.  “And who are you?”</p>
<p>“I’m Lee Stetson.  I’m here to see Amanda King?  I work with her.”</p>
<p>If anything, Dotty’s smile got wider. “Oh, of course.  I think I’ve spoken to you on the phone. I’m Dotty West, Amanda’s mother.”  She held up her keys.  “Just let me open the door and I’ll get her for you.”</p>
<p>“Thank you.” His smile got a bit more strained as she gave him another beaming look.</p>
<p>She opened the door, walking in a few steps.  “Amanda?” she called.  She gestured to Lee.  “Come on in. I’ll go find her.” She closed the door behind him.</p>
<p>“Mother?” Amanda’s voice came from upstairs.  “I was just checking on Philip.” They heard footsteps on the stairs.</p>
<p>“Oh, Amanda dear, there’s a coworker here to see you.”</p>
<p>The footsteps got closer.  “A cowork—” She appeared at the bottom of the stairs and her eyes grew wider.  She swallowed nervously. “Oh, hello, Mr. Stetson.”</p>
<p>He nodded at her with a smile.  “Hello, Mrs. King.  I was just bringing you your work for tomorrow and I need to collect your paperwork from today.”</p>
<p>Dotty looked back and forth between them and grinned.  “I’ll just go put my purse away.  Would you like some tea or coffee, Mr. Stetson?”</p>
<p>Amanda beat Lee to an answer. “Oh, I’m sure that Mr. Stetson won’t be able to stay, Mother.” She eyed him warningly.</p>
<p>“No, thank you, Mrs. West.” He gave her another of his winning smiles.  “I do need to be going.”</p>
<p>“Alright, maybe another time.  It was nice to meet you.” Dotty left the room reluctantly, glancing back for one more look at Lee.</p>
<p>“What are you doing at my front door, Lee?” Amanda whispered furiously. </p>
<p>As he drew breath to answer, she held up her hand.  “Never mind.  I’ll go get the transcriptions.  Wait here.”</p>
<p>She went back up the stairs, coming back about a minute later with a file folder held against her chest and a box of tapes in her hand.  Pulling him wordlessly out the front door, she closed it firmly behind him and then turned to face him.</p>
<p>“For two years, you’ve been popping up in my backyard with no one the wiser.  Why all of a sudden do you think it’s okay to just come to the front door?”</p>
<p>“Look, I’m sorry, Amanda.  She caught me as I was going up the driveway.”</p>
<p>“You’re a highly-trained intelligence agent and you got caught by my mother?”</p>
<p>He blew out a quick breath, running his hand through his hair.  “I’m just tired, alright?  It was a long day, and I didn’t want to have to come out here later after it got dark.  I have plans tonight.”</p>
<p>She huffed out a short breath, pursing her lips. “Hot date?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, she’s coming over for dinner.” He yawned. “Though I kinda wish now that I hadn’t made any plans. I really am tired.”</p>
<p>He wondered what the expression on Amanda’s face meant. Earlier she had been surprised and nervous, and then she had sounded angry.  But now, she looked almost defeated.</p>
<p>“Hey, how’s Philip?” he asked, hoping to distract her. He found that he actually did care about her answer.</p>
<p>The genuine concern she saw in his face allowed the last of her anger at him to fade away.</p>
<p>She smiled tiredly.  “He’s doing okay.  I think it’s just the stomach flu.  It was nice of Mr. Melrose to let me work from home.”</p>
<p>He nodded. “Speaking of which, here are the tapes for you to transcribe tomorrow.” He held out the box of cassette tapes, accepting the folder and other box she gave him in return.</p>
<p>“Thank you for dropping them by.” Amanda smiled at him. “I’ll try to finish them tomorrow.”</p>
<p>He had looked at the labels on the tapes and knew that they were not time-sensitive, so he felt confident in advising, “Just do your best and take care of your family. If you don’t finish everything, it’ll be okay.”</p>
<p>She nodded.  “Oh, I’m sure I can finish them.  They’re usually 90-minute tapes, so this should be about 6 hours of material.  It should take me about 8 hours to transcribe them. And we’re taking the ‘divide and conquer’ approach. I’m staying up in my room so that I’m close to Philip, so that gives me lots of time to work.  Mother’s going to make dinner and take care of Jamie; he’s going to even sleep downstairs on the pull-out sofa. We’re trying to keep everyone’s exposure to Philip limited, and it’s better if Jamie doesn’t sleep in the same room with him.”</p>
<p>He nodded, then yawned again.</p>
<p>She smiled tenderly at him and placed her hand on his arm.  “Speaking of sleeping, I think you should try to take a nap before your date tonight.”</p>
<p>He smiled back.  “I’m hoping to.” He stepped back, preparing to leave.  “Alright, Amanda, I guess I’ll see you on Thursday, as long as Philip’s feeling better and no one else gets sick.”</p>
<p>“Okay, see you Thursday.” She watched him walk away.  When he was only a few steps away, she called out, “Get some good sleep tonight.  You really do look exhausted.”</p>
<p>He turned his head toward her and groaned but accompanied it with a good-natured grin.  “So everyone keeps telling me.”</p>
<p>**SMK**</p>
<p>He did not get in a good nap before Leslie got there.  He tried, really tried, but he had stared at the ceiling longer than at the insides of his eyelids.  He finally drifted off only forty minutes before his alarm was set to go off. He needed about a half hour to fix the simple pasta and salad meal he had planned, so he had set it for eight o’clock.  Leslie was supposed to arrive at eight-thirty.</p>
<p>The ringing of his alarm woke him out of a dream, and at first he was confused about where he was and what time it was.  Was it morning already?</p>
<p>He looked at the clock and shut off the alarm.  Eight o’clock.  Glancing out the window, he realized it was still dark, and that convinced him it was nighttime.  <em>Oh, yeah.  Leslie’s coming over.</em></p>
<p>He groaned as he sat up, rubbing his hands across his face.  He decided a quick rinse in the shower might help him wake up, so he got up and headed for the bathroom.</p>
<p>As he undressed and stepped into the hot water, he tried to remember his dream.  He was fairly sure Amanda had been in it. He shook his head.  <em>Whatever.</em> It didn’t really matter.  He needed to finish up in here and start on making dinner.</p>
<p>Leslie arrived right on time, looking lovely as usual.  He smiled and they chatted as he handed her a glass of wine to start off their evening.</p>
<p>As they sat down to eat, he had the thought that it was so nice to just sit down and have an intelligent conversation across the table.  Leslie wasn’t like the other women he dated.  She was a nice person, and they could have discussions about current events and just ‘normal’ things without him feeling he had to work at it like those other ‘lady-friends’ he had dated in the past.</p>
<p>The closest he ever came to this was having a meal with Amanda, and he felt a little surge of regret that he hadn’t had a chance to eat lunch with her today.  Their short discussion outside her front door hadn’t really been a satisfying conversation, though he was glad that she appeared to not be mad at him anymore by the time he left. He didn’t like it when she was mad at him.  He briefly thought of the defeated look that had appeared on her face after he admitted he had a date tonight, and he realized that <em>that</em> look had been on her face in his dream, too.</p>
<p>“Lee?” Leslie’s voice made him aware that he had been silently contemplating Amanda for the last minute and he had missed what Leslie had just said.</p>
<p>She gave him a friendly smile.  “You look tired. I think I should go.  This has been a lovely dinner.  Thank you for having me over.”</p>
<p>He took a breath to deny her assertion, then yawned.  He gave a small chuckle.  “I guess you’re right about me being tired.  I’m sorry that our night is being cut short.”</p>
<p>They both stood up, and Leslie headed for the couch, where she had set her purse.  Lee moved toward the door and picked up her jacket from the coat rack.  He held it out for her to put her arms through.</p>
<p>As she left, she gave him a kiss on his cheek.  “Get some rest.  I’ll call you tomorrow.”</p>
<p>As he closed the door, he wondered why he wasn’t more disappointed that she had left.  Sure, he was tired, but he had been tired in the past and still been able to show a lady a good time.</p>
<p>He shrugged, then cleaned up the dishes from the table and switched off the lights.  He could definitely use some sleep.</p>
<p>**SMK**</p>
<p><em>At least this morning I’m not late. </em>He glanced at his watch to double-check, then grimaced.  <em>Well, not by much.</em></p>
<p>He saw Billy across the bullpen and was just close enough to see him roll his eyes.</p>
<p>As they got closer to each other, Lee opened his mouth to apologize, but Billy shook his head.  “I don’t care that you’re—” he checked his watch, “six minutes late.  But you still look terrible.  What are you doing to yourself, man?”</p>
<p>He shrugged with a confused expression on his face.  “I don’t even know.  I went to bed at ten last night, but I couldn’t sleep.  I haven’t been able to sleep well for the last three nights.”</p>
<p>The section chief raised one eyebrow.  “When you say you went to bed—”</p>
<p>“<em>Alone, </em>Billy.  The last three nights I’ve been alone.  I’ve just had insomnia.”</p>
<p>Billy’s expression changed to one of concern. “Are you having nightmares?  Do you need to talk to Pfaff again?”</p>
<p>“No, I’m not having nightmares.” He rubbed his hand through his hair, leaving it in a state of more disarray than Billy could remember seeing it since Lee had pretended to be suffering from burnout in April.</p>
<p>Billy placed his hand on the younger man’s shoulder.  He hated seeing his best agent—and good friend—so run down. “Well, then, maybe you should go to the infirmary and see if they’ll give you something to help you sleep.  You can’t keep functioning this way.”</p>
<p>Lee sighed. “I’m not quite ready to take that step yet, but if it keeps up, I’ll think about it.”</p>
<p>Billy nodded.  It was more of a concession than he’d expected.</p>
<p>“Oh, come into my office.  There are a few things I need you to check on for me.”</p>
<p>Lee followed him, hoping to at least get out of the office for a while today.  The way he was feeling, if he had to sit at his desk for long, he’d start snoring. <em>Huh. That might be good thing.  At least I’d get a little rest.</em></p>
<p>**SMK**</p>
<p>Well, at least he felt more accomplished after being out of the office following up leads for Billy than he did sitting doing paperwork all day. And he wasn’t as bored, either.</p>
<p>When he got back to the office, it was after six o’clock and he did a final message check.  Leslie had called for him twice, but he hadn’t felt like stopping to answer the earlier message because he didn’t know how long he was going to be, and the last one had been left at five o’clock. </p>
<p>He sat down at his desk and returned her call.</p>
<p>She answered and he replied hello, letting her know it was him. </p>
<p>“Oh, Lee, I’m so glad you called.  I know in my last message I asked if you wanted to meet me for dinner, but I’ve been called in to work suddenly and I can’t see you tonight.”</p>
<p>“Oh, that’s too bad.” He felt as if he’d been let off the hook, somehow. <em>Okay, now I <span class="u">know</span> I’m tired; feeling <span class="u">relieved</span> to not be going out with a beautiful woman?</em></p>
<p>Feeling guilty at his thought, he added, “Well, maybe tomorrow or Friday?”</p>
<p>She laughed lightly.  “I’ll try to find a place for you in my schedule. Thanks for being so understanding.”</p>
<p>“No problem.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow.  Bye.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After he hung up, he let out a relieved sigh.  An evening free…</p>
<p><em>Maybe I should go see how Amanda’s doing with Philip. </em>He shook his head at the thought.  Where had that come from?  He had no good reason to go over there.  He hadn’t heard anything about her missing work tomorrow.  Maybe he should check with Billy to make sure she was still planning to come in tomorrow.  If she wasn’t, Billy might need him to drop work off with her again.</p>
<p>He checked with Billy, but he said that as far as he knew, Amanda was planning on coming to work tomorrow.  <em>Guess I’ll just go home, then.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to get some sleep.</em></p>
<p>**SMK**</p>
<p>Lee walked though the bullpen doors just in time to hear Billy say, “It’s Spring-Cleaning time!” and he almost turned around and walked right back out again.</p>
<p>But unfortunately, Francine saw him and commented, “Ooh, it’s the Midnight Rambler…” and then Billy turned around and whispered, “I want to talk to you.”  So he stood and waited, noticing the concerned look Amanda gave him even though she was doing her best to follow what Billy was saying.</p>
<p>He put his suit coat on and headed to get a cup of coffee, then sat down until Billy was ready for him.  He was still tired, still suffering from insomnia, and still didn’t know why. </p>
<p>When he distantly heard Billy telling Amanda she would be going to the firing range tomorrow, Lee assumed he was done with his Spring-Cleaning spiel, so he stood up and began fixing his tie.  He hadn’t done a particularly good job on it when he was getting dressed this morning.</p>
<p>As Amanda and Francine turned toward him, he heard Francine commenting about the Russian circus.  “What was her name? Sasha? Sonja?” He vaguely heard Amanda wishing him a good morning as he continued to wrestle with his tie.</p>
<p>“Svetlana…” He gave Francine an irritated look.  “She was a juggler.”</p>
<p>“Oh, excuse me,” she replied. “Well, on the national scale of dissolution and dissipation, I’d say you rate a strong thirteen today, Stetson.”</p>
<p>He noticed Amanda looking uncomfortable, glancing down at the ground (<em>was there something wrong with his shoes?</em>) and then looking back up with wide eyes.</p>
<p>“Francine, do you mind, huh?  It’s insomnia, that’s all.”</p>
<p>He saw Billy standing in front of his office and turned to talk to him.</p>
<p>“Insomnia, huh?  And chronic, too.  Same problem for the last four days…” He gave Lee a look, reminding him of his suggestion to get some help if the problem continued.</p>
<p>Lee sighed. </p>
<p>“There’s a way to make it up to me.  Amanda’s never been Spring Cleaning.”</p>
<p>“Oh, no, wait a minute, Billy.  Amanda doesn’t need a nursemaid.  She’s been around enough to know how to handle a few crackpots. Come on!”</p>
<p>“Handling it is one thing, but Amanda gets…enthused.”</p>
<p>He admitted to himself that Billy wasn’t wrong, and gave a slight nod.</p>
<p>“Like any other day in DC, anything can happen. I’ve got a mill full of funny rumors.  Who makes rumors?”</p>
<p>“Crackpots,” they answered together.</p>
<p>“Take care of her,” Billy instructed intensely.  “I just need you to get her started.  Dr. Smyth wants to see you at ten o’clock, so help her with her first one, show her the ropes, and get back here.”</p>
<p><em>Great.  Dealing with Dr. Smyth is worse than dealing with the crackpots. </em>“What does Dr. Smyth want with me?”</p>
<p>“You’ll find out soon enough…” Billy’s sickly smile did not fill him with confidence.</p>
<p>**SMK**</p>
<p>As soon as they were finished with the Ladies Auxiliary of the Cosmic Cabal, Lee reminded Amanda that he had a meeting with Dr. Smyth.  After making sure that she was fine to do the rest on her own, he left and made his way back to the Agency.</p>
<p>Billy hadn’t told him whether he was supposed to go to Dr. Smyth’s office or if Dr. Smyth was coming to the bullpen, so he checked there first, and saw that Dr. Smyth was speaking with Billy outside Billy’s office.  They noticed him at the same time; Billy made one more comment and Dr. Smyth moved toward the conference room, clearly expecting Lee to follow.</p>
<p>The conversation about the Grenada Hales finally brought Dr. Smyth to the crux of the problem.  He handed Lee the velvet-covered jewelry box, and he opened it to find a single, very expensive-looking, earring.</p>
<p>Lee made the connection to Project Sand Pebbles and the possibility that the sudden appearance of the earring could mean that the whole Sand Pebbles list could be compromised. </p>
<p>Dr. Smyth offered Lee an Alpha-17 clearance to look up the Grenada files at the Pentagon, which was an indication of just how serious this all was.</p>
<p>So, he was in for a trip to the Pentagon and a trip to see Elisa Danton.  This was certainly turning out to be a much more interesting day than the last few.  Despite his continuing exhaustion, he found himself looking forward to the challenge of the next few hours.</p>
<p>**SMK**</p>
<p>Okay, maybe “challenge” had been too positive a word.  “Frustration” was looking more realistic after being denied access to the Grenada files by that officious Sergeant Stillman; he guessed he couldn’t really blame him, however, if the computer was down. Determined to return after two hours, he decided to head over to the Danton estate to see what he could get out of Elisa.</p>
<p>In the car, he called Billy and gave him a progress report (what there was of it) and let him know that he was on the way to speak with Elisa Danton.</p>
<p>Billy grunted unintelligibly. “Good luck with that.  Don’t let yourself get caught up in—"</p>
<p>“I know, Billy, I know…” Why did Billy and Francine seem to think that he couldn’t handle Elisa?  He wasn’t a Freshman agent anymore.</p>
<p>As he drove, he thought about what Dr. Smyth and Francine had said about his history with Elisa Danton.  It was true, at one time he’d been in her company a lot.  But for the past year, he’d not been willing to have his name on the social duty roster as much as he had been.  He hadn’t found it to be as fulfilling as he used to.  It had been fun when he was twenty-eight, thirty, even thirty-three.  But now, he was thirty-five years old, and most of the glamour had worn off that whole hustle.  After the Serdeych case last week, when Amanda and Francine had helped him contact the women in his four black books, he’d even found himself feeling disgusted with the superficiality of the whole thing.  For the last year, there had been fewer and fewer ‘lady-friends,’ as Amanda called them.  He had found that he preferred to spend time with someone like Leslie, with whom he could hold a conversation and appreciate things other than who’s who, fashion, and sex.   </p>
<p><em>So why was I so relieved when Leslie had to cancel last night? She’s a beautiful woman.  We have a good time together. We can talk about such a wide variety of topics; she’s travelled and seen the world, she associates with important people (but doesn’t brag about it), she’s interested in politics but doesn’t play the game, and she’s intelligent and has the security clearance to prove it.  Sounds like the perfect woman. So why, when she kissed my cheek two nights ago, did I not even feel disappointed that that was all there was?  </em>He shook his head as he pulled through the gate at the Danton estate. <em>Well, dating Leslie is at least moving in the right direction, even if she’s not The One.</em></p>
<p>As he paid attention to getting out of the car and speaking to the maid, he quit thinking about Leslie and prepared to deal with Elisa.  He would need all his concentration to stay on his feet, literally.  Elisa was a force of nature. He couldn’t afford to get distracted.  He was due back at the Pentagon in 90 minutes and he was determined that this time, he would not be put off by Sergeant Stillman.</p>
<p>“Oh my god, look what the maid dragged in.”</p>
<p>“Hello, Elisa.”</p>
<p>“Hello?  I’ve got two of your dress shirts and a pair of your socks in my closet. I think I deserve more than ‘Hello, Elisa.’” She stretched her arms around his neck, and he placed his hands on her waist.  He was overwhelmed with the scent of her heavy perfume, and he wondered briefly why she would even feel the need to wear it when sunbathing alone near her personal pool.</p>
<p>“You look wonderful.” <em>She always does.</em></p>
<p>“You feel better than ever.”</p>
<p>
  <em>Ugh.  Did she really just say that?</em>
</p>
<p>He reached up and peeled her arms away from his neck. “Well, I wish this was just a social call…” <em>I really don’t.  Glad I have an excuse to make this fast.</em></p>
<p>“I like to make wishes come true.”</p>
<p>
  <em>Yeah, yours…</em>
</p>
<p>“I know you do.” He encouraged her to go back and sit down, and he followed her and sat down himself. <em>So nice to finally be able to breathe. And now I’m going to smell like her perfume for the rest of the day. </em>“But you know why I’m here. Dr. Smyth just didn’t walk off with that earring you got without <em>some</em> explanation.”</p>
<p>“Lee, darling, I’ll tell you everything if you tell me why it’s been over a year since I’ve seen you,” she pouted.</p>
<p>
  <em>Maybe because I’ve outgrown pouting women.</em>
</p>
<p>Before he could answer aloud, the maid interrupted.  “Mr. Stetson, you have an urgent phone call.”</p>
<p>“Excuse me, Elisa, but I need to take this call.”</p>
<p>“Of course you do, darling, just don’t forget to come back.”</p>
<p>With a tight smile, he nodded his head at her and followed the maid. She brought him to the library and showed him the phone.</p>
<p>He picked up the handset.  “Stetson.”</p>
<p>Billy’s voice came across the line.  “Scarecrow, there’s been some kind of explosion at the ‘Save Our Bay’ rally.  Wasn’t that one of Amanda’s Spring-Cleaning assignments?”</p>
<p>Lee felt his stomach drop.  “Yes, it was.” <em>Oh, God.  Please let her be okay.  I will never forgive myself for letting her go alone if she’s hurt. </em>“I’ll head over there right away.”</p>
<p>He hung up and ran out of the room, searching for the maid.  Luckily, she was found in the next room.  “Tell Elisa that I had an emergency and I’ll call her later.”</p>
<p>He raced out of the house and took off with a squealing of tires.</p>
<p>The whole trip over to the bay, he kept thinking about Amanda.  Somehow, she was never very far from his mind.  Even when he was in the physical presence of other women, <em>she </em>was the one he had on his mind. When he’d first met Amanda, he had seen her as inferior to other women of his acquaintance in sophistication and beauty, and even looked down on her friendliness, caring, and practicality.  But now, comparisons to other women always seemed to favor Amanda. Sure, Amanda had changed a bit over the last two years, but he thought that he had changed even more. Heck, two years ago, he had thought sophistication and beauty were things to celebrate in a woman.  He still appreciated them, to be sure; Leslie was both sophisticated and beautiful, but she was also intelligent and friendly.  In many ways, Leslie reminded him of Amanda. </p>
<p>Amanda had proven over and over that she could be sophisticated, too, when she had been required to go undercover.  Men flocked to her whenever they were at a party and she was wearing one of her fancy gowns.  But the very fact that she could wear sophistication like a cloak and take it on and off as it suited her only proved that the trait was superficial at best.  And that brought him back to his earlier thoughts, that he had outgrown the need for all the glamour and sophistication in his personal life.</p>
<p>What he appreciated above all with Amanda (and to some extent Leslie, too) was her genuineness. The true gift that Amanda gave him every day was her ability to use her own sincerity to bring out the real Lee Stetson.  His career had favored deception and lies, never letting anyone see the real man.  Most people saw him as <em>Scarecrow</em>, but to Amanda he was just <em>Lee</em>. Others valued what he looked like, what he could do, and who he knew. Amanda valued who he was on the inside.</p>
<p>He was almost to the bay.  He wasn’t a religious person, but he couldn’t help but pray that Amanda was okay.  If he lost her, he would lose himself, too.</p>
<p>He parked the Corvette in the first free space he saw, frantically racing out to where all the emergency vehicles were clustered.  With growing panic, he saw people being placed on stretchers and gurneys and loaded into ambulances. Others were being treated where they sat on the grass.  <em>What was she wearing today?  Think! Think! A red skirt.  Red skirt, red skirt, that should be easy to spot… Red skirt… </em></p>
<p>His eyes scanned the crowds nearby, then moved farther afield when he still didn’t spot her.  There was still a chance that she wasn’t even here when the explosion occurred, but knowing Amanda, that wasn’t likely.  She was usually right where the danger was.</p>
<p>
  <em>Red skirt, red skirt…There! </em>
</p>
<p>He felt like he could finally breathe again as he ran to where Amanda stood on a swell of grass overlooking the scene.</p>
<p>“Amanda?”</p>
<p>She turned toward him.</p>
<p>“Are you okay?  When I heard you were here, I thought maybe—”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m okay. But that poor man never even had a chance.” She put her hands against his chest and he held onto her arms. “I felt the bomb when it blew.  It was like running into a brick wall and I wasn’t even all that close.”</p>
<p>She leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around her, feeling her body still shuddering from the close call. </p>
<p>“Just thank God you weren’t hurt, that’s all.” He rocked her back and forth, closing his eyes at the relief he felt that she was here in his arms and not hurt, or worse.</p>
<p>He pulled back a little when he heard someone approaching.</p>
<p>He recognized the detective, so he separated himself from Amanda. “Hey, Manny, this your case?”</p>
<p>“Why don’t you go crawl under a rock where you belong? I got a simple bombing case here.  I don’t need you spooks complicating my life.”</p>
<p>Lee cleared his throat.</p>
<p>“You know this joker, Mrs. King?”</p>
<p>She turned to Lee.  “Does he--?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, he knows.” He turned to Manny.  “Amanda’s part time.  She runs errands for me.” <em>And so much more.</em></p>
<p>He looked at Amanda. “You’re a spook, too.  Well, why didn’t you say so?  It’s not a crime to be a spook.  Not in this town.”</p>
<p>“Detective Trudeau, where are they taking Mrs. Sullivan?”</p>
<p>“To the station.  To print her and check her name against the federal radical list.”</p>
<p>Amanda looked upset at the news.</p>
<p>“I’ll talk to you later.” The detective turned back toward his crime scene and walked away.</p>
<p>“Lee,” she entreated.</p>
<p>He shrugged, a regretful expression on his face.  “They have to.”</p>
<p>She looked so upset that he knew he had to help her.  When she hurt, <em>he</em> hurt.</p>
<p>He sighed and glanced at his watch.  “Look, we can investigate this more later.  Right now, I need to get over to the Pentagon, and I’m not letting you out of my sight.  So you’re coming with me.”</p>
<p>At first it seemed like she might argue with him about it, but she must have seen something in his face that convinced her otherwise. She nodded.</p>
<p>He took her hand and led her back to his car.  When they got to the Pentagon, he wasn’t even sure they would let her through the security checkpoint, but it turned out that her security clearance and the fact that she was with him were enough to pass her through.</p>
<p>It all turned out to be moot, anyway, since his second run-in with Sergeant Stillwell turned out to be even more unsatisfying than the first.  He and Amanda left after running afoul of a Code Vermillion and a pistol in the hands of Sergeant Stillwell.</p>
<p>On arriving back at the Agency, they separated, Lee joining Billy and Dr. Smyth in Billy’s office, and Amanda sitting down at a computer to do some more research on Save Our Bay and Elizabeth Sullivan.</p>
<p>When Dr. Smyth left, Lee made his way out to the bullpen, spotting Amanda at her computer.  “Hey, I know you still want to help out Mrs. Sullivan, so I suggest a little quid pro quo.  You do a little research for me right now, and then I help you later this afternoon with Save Our Bay. What do you think?”</p>
<p>She eyed him shrewdly, pursing her lips.  “Alright,” she finally answered.  “What do you need?”</p>
<p>He walked the few steps to his desk and picked up the file on the stolen earring.  Returning to Amanda, he handed her the file. “I need this earring authenticated.  If it’s the real thing, it means some serious trouble could be on the way. The actual earring is in the safe in Billy’s office, if you need to see it.  But it’s valuable, and it’s evidence, so if you must take it somewhere to have it authenticated, you’ll need to fill out the proper paperwork.  Billy or Francine can help you with that.” He sighed. “I have to go beard a general.”</p>
<p>The general had been extremely tight-lipped and was only adding to Lee’s frustrations.  He then called Elisa to see if she was available, but she told him she was busy until dinnertime, and invited him over.  Thinking of everything else he still needed to do today, he gave a silent sigh and agreed. If nothing else, after the day he was having today, he ought to be able to fall asleep tonight.</p>
<p>Looking at his watch, he realized that Amanda would probably not have had enough time to complete the authentication of the earring, so he might as well do what he could to help Amanda.  His check-in phone call to Billy letting him know of the general’s stonewalling and Elisa’s unavailability until dinner time had also given him a little more to go on with the Elizabeth Sullivan case, since Amanda was adamant that Kurt Magnuson had been the one who had planted the bomb and that Mrs. Sullivan would never risk her baby’s life doing any such thing.</p>
<p>He might as well drive over to the police station and see if Manny had any news.  Maybe he could do something about getting Elizabeth Sullivan out of jail.</p>
<p>While waiting for the police to process the papers necessary to release Elizabeth Sullivan from custody, Lee spoke to her husband, who showed him some pictures of TransOceanic trawlers fishing way over their legal limit and mentioned the name Walter O’Keefe.  His assertion that O’Keefe had bought off Hamilton Rawlings was something that Lee could work with, and gave the Agency a reason to continue investigating.</p>
<p>When Mrs. Sullivan came out, she explained that the police had shown her pamphlets that she supposedly had in her desk and letters she had supposedly written to extremist groups, but she had never seen them before and declared that she had never written any letters. And when he asked her about Magnuson, she admitted that she didn’t like him very much, but that they needed all the help they could get.  Mr. Sullivan added that Magnuson had a temper but was a hard worker.  Mrs. Sullivan then informed him that Magnuson had been present in the office when Rawlings had told her the contents of his speech; she gave him the man’s address when he asked.</p>
<p>He thanked them and let them know he would do what he could to help them out and informed them that Amanda would be contacting them the next day.</p>
<p>He looked at his watch.  It was now almost five o’clock.  Maybe Amanda would have some news about the earring. He decided to go back to the Agency to check in. </p>
<p>A few minutes later, he passed a street that had a familiar name, and he glanced at the address Elizabeth Sullivan had given him.  That was Magnuson’s street.  He quickly made a U-turn, turned onto the street, and found the apartment building that matched the address Elizabeth Sullivan had given him.</p>
<p>This wasn’t a good part of town, and the area was mostly deserted.  He parked along the street.  The few other cars also parked along the curb were old and run-down, and he glanced around, hoping his car would be safe for the short amount of time he was planning on being in the building. </p>
<p>As he walked up to the building, he noted a nicer, newer car parked somewhat haphazardly right next to the wall of the building.  That was odd.  The car didn’t seem to match its surroundings, but he supposed that even people living in conditions like this could own something better than the junkers littering the street near his Corvette. Though would something that nice continue to <em>stay </em>that nice if the owner lived in this building?</p>
<p>He decided to get a little closer to see if there was anything he could learn from the car. He got close enough to see it had Maryland plates and the last three digits were 767, but from the angle the car was parked at, he couldn’t see the rest.  He would have to get closer.</p>
<p>Just as he made that decision, a man left the building, glancing suspiciously around himself, and headed toward the car.  Lee couldn’t see his face from his position around the corner of the building where he had plastered himself to avoid being seen. He could tell the man was tall and thin, medium brown hair, and was wearing a light gray sports coat, but that was about it.  As the man got in the car and drove away, Lee was still unable to see the rest of the license plate.</p>
<p>Oh, well, he might as well continue into the building and see if he could get Magnuson to give him something he could work with.</p>
<p>**SMK**</p>
<p>He called Billy from his car phone, still sitting parked outside Magnuson’s apartment building, which had now become a crime scene.  After asking Billy to bring Amanda and Francine into his office, he gave them the rundown from his afternoon’s work so they could all hear the news at once.  Amanda had been able to authenticate the earrings, so that was one part of that puzzle completed. He still had to go to the police station and write his statement about discovering Magnuson’s body, and then he would have to go home to get ready for his dinner with Elisa Danton.  He didn’t have time to go back to the Agency to report in person.</p>
<p>After writing out his police report, he wearily made his way to his apartment.  He wished he didn’t have to go to this dinner with Elisa.  How he would love to just be able to stay home and snuggle down into the blankets on his bed. His mind just needed a break.  Trying to juggle two cases, following days with minimal sleep, was grinding him down to nothing.  He felt the grittiness of his eyes and heaviness in his chest that always accompanied lack of sleep for him.  Why did Elisa have to insist on dinner?  If it were anyone else, he would have just scheduled a time during the day and met with her wearing his regular work suit. But no, with Elisa he had to go home, take a shower, and get all gussied up, just to make sure he could sweet-talk information out of her and not get Dr. Smyth’s nose out of joint.</p>
<p>As the elevator door opened on his floor, he trudged toward his apartment, barely mustering the energy to lift his feet up enough to propel him down the hall. </p>
<p>He could only cite his exhaustion as the reason he didn’t notice anything until he heard the words “Hello, Lee.”</p>
<p>He was startled into looking up, and was shocked to see Amanda standing next to his door.  “Amanda!  When did you get here? <em>Why</em> are you here?”</p>
<p>“Oh, Lee, when you called earlier, I could tell by the sound of your voice that you were just exhausted.  And then Mr. Melrose said something about you having a late dinner with Elisa Danton and I heard Francine making a comment about oysters and strawberries, and I realized that ‘dinner’ with her was probably not going to involve a lot of filling food.  Then I wondered if you had even eaten lunch, since you were running all over the place today. And you were so nice to go do all that stuff to try to help Elizabeth Sullivan, and I know it really was more like a favor to me than an assignment, since Mr. Melrose said that it was a police matter and you’re already working another case, and—”</p>
<p>“Whoa—wait, Amanda.” He could barely keep track of everything she was saying, and he certainly didn’t want to be out here in the hallway discussing it, so he stuck the key in the door and opened it, waiting for her to follow him inside before closing it. </p>
<p>“Okay, so you were worried about me not eating…?”</p>
<p>She set a plastic container on his dining room table and nodded.  “I wasn’t sure if you had eaten lunch and it sounded like you were unlikely to get a good dinner at Miss Danton’s, plus it seemed awfully late to be eating anyway, especially if you didn’t eat lunch.”</p>
<p>“Okay, so…?”</p>
<p>She placed her hand on top of the plastic container.  “So I went home and got some of the dinner Mother was cooking and I brought it here so you could have something filling before you wasted away to nothing!” She nodded her head once in finality. “I mean, I know you don’t eat breakfast, so have you even eaten <em>anything</em> today?”</p>
<p>“I…I don’t remember.” He looked into her eyes sheepishly.  “Maybe?”</p>
<p>She stepped closer to him, touching his arm, then brushing his hair back from his forehead.  He closed his eyes.  That felt <em>so good</em>…</p>
<p>“Oh, Lee, why don’t you go shower and get ready for your dinner, and I’ll get this heated up and set out for you.”</p>
<p>He nodded, having no energy to argue against her mothering as he usually would, especially when she made so much sense. He walked into his bedroom and shut the door.</p>
<p>A few minutes later, he came back out in his pants, shoes, and dress shirt, carrying his coat and tie. “That smells great.”  The smile he gave her was tired, but still managed to make it to his eyes.</p>
<p>She shrugged off the compliment.  “It’s just some baked chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes, but it should be filling and nutritious. Oh, and I’ll get you some water.” She turned and grabbed a glass out of a cabinet, filling it with water and placing it on the table next to the plate. “I’m sure you haven’t had enough to drink today, either, and you don’t want to get dehydrated. You probably won’t have anything but alcohol at your dinner with Miss Danton.”</p>
<p>He sat down at the table. Even though he felt almost steamrolled by the sheer quantity of information he had received from Amanda and the rapidity of its transmission, it felt like her presence buoyed him.  He hadn’t even taken a bite of the food yet, and he felt energized by her presence. He cut off a piece of chicken and popped it into his mouth, groaning as he appreciated the flavor.</p>
<p>It was like that first bite had woken up his stomach, and he was suddenly ravenous.  He started eating more, chewing and swallowing until there was nothing left on the plate.  Through it all, Amanda watched him with a small smile on her face, sitting down with him at the table and giving him more information about the Hale jewelry that he hadn’t had a chance to hear during his earlier phone call.</p>
<p>As he swallowed the last bite, he set down his fork and wiped his mouth with the napkin Amanda had left for him.  He took a deep breath and let it out, closing his eyes for a moment.  Opening them again, he met her eyes and gave her a grateful smile. </p>
<p>“Thank you.  I didn’t even know I was hungry. Somehow you always seem to know what I need before I do.”</p>
<p>“Oh, it’s nothing,” she disregarded his compliment.  “I just know that you tend to ignore yourself and your needs when you’re busy.  I—don’t.”</p>
<p>Her cheeks turned pink as she realized how that sounded.  “I mean—”</p>
<p>He stood up, taking her hand and pulling her up to stand in front of him.  “I know what you mean, Amanda.”  He reached out and grabbed her other hand, too.  “You take care of people. Your boys, your mother… <em>me</em>.” He looked deeply into her eyes.  “You try to downplay it, but it’s important. I know that in the past I’ve gotten annoyed with you for mothering me, but I know it’s just part of who you are.  And I feel honored that you care enough about me to make that effort.”</p>
<p>She tried to look down, her cheeks flushing a deeper pink, but he released one hand so that he could put his knuckle under her chin and nudge her head up again.</p>
<p>“Hey,” he interjected.  Seeing that she was looking at him, he moved his hand to her cheek. “I don’t tell you often enough how important you are to me. Earlier today, when I thought you may have been hurt in that explosion, I was—I was beside myself.” When he paused and raised one eyebrow, she gave a little nod, indicating that she had heard him.  “And when I told Manny that you run errands for me… What was running through my mind was that you do, and are, <em>so much more </em>than that. I hated to belittle your position that way, but there’s just no way to sufficiently explain everything you do in only a few words. You’re my partner, and my friend.” He paused, his heart beating faster as he realized that he was opening himself up more than he had with anyone, ever.  Was he really ready to say even more?</p>
<p>But then he looked back into her eyes, and saw so much trust, and honesty, and affection, that he couldn’t hold it back anymore.  “You’re my <em>best</em> friend, Amanda.  The best friend I’ve ever had in my entire life.”</p>
<p>He was staring into her eyes, so he saw them brighten with unshed tears.  Her mouth curved up in a tremulous smile.  “You’re my best friend, too, Lee,” she squeaked out.</p>
<p>He smiled back and pulled her into his arms, holding tight and feeling her arms go around his waist in return. He took a deep breath, appreciating her light lavender scent and the sense of contentment he felt with her in his arms. She was his touchstone; she revived his spirit.</p>
<p>She was also a detail-oriented, organized, schedule-following person, and she pulled back, looking at the time and letting out an “oh!” of surprise.  “What time is your dinner with Miss Danton?”</p>
<p>He glanced at his watch.  “Eight o’clock.  It’s seven-twenty now.  I should get ready to go.”</p>
<p>He reluctantly stepped away from her and picked up his tie from the back of the couch where he had thrown it when he came out of the bedroom. He flung the middle section over his head and around the back of his neck and adjusted the ends, then began tying it. </p>
<p>Lee noticed an odd smile on Amanda’s face.  “What?”</p>
<p>The smile left her face as she looked at him in surprise. “What do you mean, <em>what</em>?”</p>
<p>He kept adjusting the knot and clarified, “What were you smiling about?”</p>
<p>“Oh, nothing important.”</p>
<p>For some reason, he could not get the knot to sit right and he thought he might have to start all over.  But then Amanda stepped in front of him and put her hands on the tie, and he dropped his hands out of the way and let her at it. </p>
<p>He felt her make a few small adjustments and he moved his head around to make sure it felt comfortable.  She patted the knot and smoothed the tie down his chest, then stepped back.  He noticed the smile was back.  “You’ve got that smile on your face again.”</p>
<p>“Do I?” She raised one eyebrow, the smile never leaving her lips.</p>
<p>“Are you going to tell me what that’s all about?”</p>
<p>“Nope.  Not tonight.  Maybe some other time.”</p>
<p>He sighed good-naturedly.  Her small smile turned into a bright grin.</p>
<p>Shaking his head, he picked up his suit coat from the back of the couch and put it on, adjusting how it sat on his shoulders.  Amanda stepped forward again and smoothed down the lapels, then patted both hands on his chest.</p>
<p>She stepped back and observed him in his suit. “Lookin’ good, Stetson.”</p>
<p>He gave her a grin.  “Oh, yeah?”</p>
<p>She tilted her head and regarded him.  “That’s my favorite suit of yours.”</p>
<p>“Mine, too,” he admitted.  “It’s the nicest one I own.  Dr. Smyth expects me to get information out of Elisa Danton, and, well… you use what you’ve got.”</p>
<p>Amanda rolled her eyes and shook her head disapprovingly.  “Mm-hmm.”</p>
<p>“It’s just the way the game is played, Amanda.  It’s part of our business.”</p>
<p>She nodded.  “I know.  That doesn’t mean that I like it. Whether it’s you, me, or Francine, it just feels a little…icky.”</p>
<p>He nodded.  He knew it bothered her to act as bait.  But they all had to do it occasionally.  In the past it didn’t bother him too much because he felt the women were using him just as much as he was using them, if for different reasons.  He had been careless with himself in many ways over the years: his mind, his body, his life. He had found different ways to let things just slide right off him, like wearing a shell made of diamonds; people valued its sparkle, wanted to posses it, used it for their own purposes, dressed it up to their own advantage.  But they never knew the tender heart that beat inside, valuing the diamonds only for their strength in protecting what really mattered.</p>
<p>Amanda had found a crack in the shell, and in the past two years, she had widened it so much that he couldn’t afford to be careless with himself anymore.  Things could hurt him now, so he had to be more careful.  It was Amanda who was teaching him how to be more careful, more <em>full of care</em>, every day. And even though there was more of a chance he could get hurt, there were also so many more chances to <em>feel</em>. </p>
<p>He took a deep breath and straightened up.  “Wish me luck.  I’m going to need it.”</p>
<p>She nodded and smiled at him.  “I’ll clean up here, then lock the door behind me when I leave.”</p>
<p>He looked at her silently for a moment, tempted to tell her she didn’t need to do that, but he knew it would do no good.  He was learning to let her care for him. “Thank you.  Please tell your mother that dinner was delicious.”</p>
<p>Her smile softened as she followed him to the door, and she placed her hand on his arm as he reached for the door.  “Good luck, Lee.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>**SMK**</p>
<p>Dinner was just what he had expected from Elisa Danton: expensive items designed to impress any guest, exquisitely seasoned, and rather overrated.  He had enjoyed Dotty West’s baked chicken more and was unbelievably grateful to Amanda for bringing it to him.  If she hadn’t, he would have most likely eaten enough of the rich foods here to make him feel sick later on.</p>
<p>As they sat on a couch with digestifs of cognac, Lee tried to get some information from Elisa’s date books that would give some indication of who could have sent the earring.  His mention of General Garrett led to Elisa draping herself over his shoulders asking if <em>he</em> had ever named a Jeep after her.</p>
<p>“No, I never did.” He placed the date book and the snifter on the table, then gently removed her arms from his shoulders and settled them back at her sides. </p>
<p>She pouted.  “Is there any particular reason your name hasn’t appeared on the social duty roster lately, Lee, darling?”</p>
<p>He smiled.  “Yes.  I’ve decided that being social shouldn’t be a duty.” He saw her eyes flash in a moment of annoyance, and he explained further. “I’d like to choose my own company rather than have it assigned to me.”</p>
<p>Her eyes narrowed, and he knew he had to be careful what he said.  Dr. Smyth would not be happy if she complained about him.</p>
<p>She placed her hand on his knee, trailing it up his thigh seductively.  “Surely you never saw me as a <em>duty</em>.”</p>
<p>He put his hand on top of hers, stopping it from going any further.</p>
<p>“We’ve had a lot of fun over the years, Elisa, and I won’t deny that I enjoyed myself.  But I’m not putting myself on the social duty roster anymore. There are plenty of men that still like it, Elisa.  You won’t be hurting for company.”</p>
<p>She pursed her lips, trying to decide if she should make one more attempt or gracefully retreat.</p>
<p>She pulled her hand out from under his.  She didn’t beg for company. Still, maybe it was worth one more shot.</p>
<p>“I’m going to go upstairs and change into something more comfortable.  If you’re still here when I come back, I’ll happily forget your rejection.  If you aren’t, I’ll accept your decision with no hard feelings.” She rose from her position next to him on the couch and left the room.</p>
<p>Lee sighed in relief.  She had left him a way out that preserved the dignity of them both.</p>
<p>As he left the house, he heard the screeching of a smoke alarm, and he turned to see flames in her bedroom window.</p>
<p>**SMK**</p>
<p>His check-in call to Billy to report the fire and Elisa’s status gave him more information about Carpenter, and the welcome news that he now had the clearance to search Carpenter’s office. Amanda must have gone back to the Agency after bringing him his dinner.</p>
<p>He shook his head.  He wasn’t sure how much he had left in him.  The little shot of vitality that Amanda’s dinner visit had brought him was wearing off, and he felt every one of those missed hours of sleep.  Billy had given him the option of waiting until morning to search Carpenter’s office, but Lee didn’t want to give him any opportunities to hide evidence after Elisa’s attack and the fire incident.</p>
<p>He decided to go home and change out of his smoke-saturated suit before heading to Carpenter’s office. <em>I hope the dry cleaner can get that out. </em></p>
<p>**SMK**</p>
<p>More problems accompanied the rising of the sun the next day. Carpenter’s alibi for the night before checked out, General Garrett had disappeared, and Major McGill was being ‘helpful’ in finding him. Finally, the long-awaited access to the Grenada files gave them another lead to follow. </p>
<p>Manny had also left a message that Elizabeth Sullivan had been arrested for murder because of the evidence found in a journal in Magnuson’s apartment.</p>
<p>Knowing that of the two cases, his priority had to be the Sand Pebbles list over Save Our Bay, he asked Francine to help Amanda with that case. They were all just going to have to buckle down and deal with things as they came, and no one was getting any sleep until it was over.</p>
<p>“You watch out for her, Francine, you hear me? O’Keefe doesn’t have anything to lose anymore.  And that guy he’s got working for him has already killed once.”</p>
<p>“I’ve got it, Scarecrow.  I’ll be careful with your housewife.  I’m all caught up on the information from the case, and anything I don’t know, Amanda can tell me. I may not handle everything exactly the way you would, but I have my own ways of bringing powerful men down. You face them head on.  I bring them to their knees.” She raised one eyebrow at him.  “I’ve got an idea of how Amanda can help, and she’ll be as safe as I can make her.”</p>
<p>He glanced across the bullpen to where Amanda sat at a computer, doing more research to help Elizabeth Sullivan. He nodded silently at Francine, then walked over to join Amanda.</p>
<p>He rested his hand on the desk and leaned down so his head was on the same level as hers. “Hey, I’ve got to go chase down General Garrett and Major McGill.  Francine’s going to help you on this, okay?” He waited until she met his eyes and nodded before going on.  “She’s as up to speed as our reports can make her, but she’s going to be relying on you for stuff not in the reports.  She says she has an idea to expose O’Keefe and bring him down, and that she has an idea of how you can help.  But don’t do anything you think is dangerous, alright? She’s only borrowing you; I want my partner back in one piece when this is all over.” He gave her his genuine smile, the one that reached his eyes.  “You got this.”</p>
<p>She placed her hand on top of his.  “Lee, you be careful.  I heard about what happened at your dinner last night.  There’s someone out there willing to kill and I don’t want anything happening to you, either.”</p>
<p>She squeezed his hand and gave him a mischievous smile. “Speaking of dinner, Mother was happy you enjoyed her food.  She wants you to come to the house for dinner.”</p>
<p>“You actually told her what I said?”</p>
<p>“Well, when I packed it up, I had to tell her who it was for.  And since she had already met you, I told her it was for you.  She was perfectly happy to share at that point.”</p>
<p>He grinned.  “Oh, yeah?”</p>
<p>She shook her head.  “Yes, those dimples of yours have made another conquest.  My mother is smitten with you.”  His grin grew bigger and she shooed him away.  “You can put them away.  I’m immune to them.”</p>
<p>He laughed out loud as he walked away.</p>
<p>**SMK**</p>
<p>It was all over.  Everything.  Both cases had finally been put to bed, the bad guys had gotten what was coming to them (though he would have preferred it if McGill had gone to prison rather than being killed), the good guys had won.</p>
<p>And he had finally, <em>finally,</em> gotten some sleep.  Late Friday night, after all the reports were done, he had gone home, kicked off his shoes, flopped on the bed, and immediately fallen into a deep sleep.  He woke up halfway through Saturday, still tired, but unwilling to stay in bed any longer.</p>
<p>He couldn’t believe it was Saturday already.  Though the beginning of the week had been slow, the end of the week had made up for it.  He had done more on Thursday and Friday than he usually did in an entire week.  It had been physically and emotionally draining. </p>
<p>He thought about last Saturday.  He’d still been recovering from the Serdeych case and had decided to go to the Embassy party to distract himself.  Leslie had proven to be a good distraction.</p>
<p>His eyes widened.  <em>Leslie! </em>He had seen a message from her on Thursday, or was it Friday?  He shook his head. He was so caught up in the two cases that he had completely forgotten about Leslie.  He groaned.  He had decided that he just wasn’t feeling a spark with Leslie, but even though he had concluded that he wasn’t interested in pursuing her any further, he shouldn’t have left her hanging like that.  Not that he had done it purposely, but he needed to call her and let her know where he stood.</p>
<p><em>But first, </em>he smiled, <em>I have another phone call to make.</em></p>
<p>He dialed the familiar number.</p>
<p>“Hello?”</p>
<p>“Hello, Mrs. West.  It’s Lee Stetson.  May I please speak with Amanda?”</p>
<p>“Oh, Mr. Stetson, how nice to hear from you. Just a moment.” The sound grew muffled, but he could hear her calling for Amanda.  A few seconds later, she came back on the line.  “She’ll be right here. I’m so glad you enjoyed the dinner the other night.  A single man like you must not get too many home-cooked meals, hmm?  You really must come over one night—”</p>
<p>“Here I am, Mother,” Amanda’s voice interrupted Dotty West’s invitation, and Lee grinned. </p>
<p>“Oh, alright.  Goodbye, Mr. Stetson.  Here’s Amanda.”</p>
<p>“Goodbye, Mrs. West.”</p>
<p>There was a pause and a muffled conversation before he heard Amanda’s voice again. “Good afternoon, Lee.”</p>
<p>“Good afternoon, Amanda.” He smiled.  Just hearing her voice made him feel good.</p>
<p>“I’m glad you called.  Were you able to sleep last night?”</p>
<p>“Yes, thank God.  I slept like the dead from about ten last night until past noon today.”</p>
<p>“Did you ever figure out what was keeping you awake? I mean, something must have been bothering you subconsciously to interrupt your sleep patterns like that.” He could tell that she was still worried about him.</p>
<p>He thought about what she asked.  His sleepless nights had started Sunday night, after his date with Leslie. He had had trouble sleeping on Monday night and Tuesday night as well, despite two easy workdays, Leslie leaving early from their dinner on Tuesday, and plenty of opportunities to sleep. Wednesday night, he had been relieved that Leslie had cancelled their date, but had still not been able to sleep. Thursday night, he had told Amanda that she was his best friend and told Elisa he wasn’t interested, but that night had been spent working, so he had no idea if he would have been able to sleep, given the opportunity.  And then last night, he had no trouble falling asleep, but he figured that it was just his body giving in to sheer exhaustion.</p>
<p>“I have an idea of what it could be, but I guess tonight will be the real test.  I was so exhausted last night that <em>nothing </em>could have kept me awake.  After sleeping for over fourteen hours last night, I suppose that if anything is still bothering me, my brain could try to keep me awake again tonight.”</p>
<p>“Well, I hope you have a chance to relax this weekend.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m off the duty roster and Billy gave me Monday off, too.”</p>
<p>“I’m glad.” She paused, then asked him what he had been half-expecting to hear. “Lee, would you come to dinner sometime in the next couple days?  You don’t need to feel obligated; I mean I can put my mother off and just say you’re busy, and eventually she’ll let it drop, but—”</p>
<p>“Amanda?  Amanda… I would like that very much.” <em>Unless she doesn’t really want me to</em>.  She had implied that it was her mother’s idea, and Mrs. West had started to invite him earlier, so maybe…</p>
<p>“Are you okay with me coming over for dinner?  Because I would like to, but if you’re uncomfortable with it, then I don’t have to.”</p>
<p>“Oh, no, Lee, I didn’t mean for you to think that I didn’t want you to come to dinner.  I just wasn’t sure if you were just humoring my mother.”</p>
<p>“Okay, then it’s settled.  I’m coming to dinner.  At your house.  With your family.” He took a deep breath.  This was a big step, but she was his best friend, and she had said that he was hers.  Was it really fair to her to have to keep her two worlds so separate?  “So, when would you like me to come over?”</p>
<p>“Oh, any day is good for us.  We could do tonight, or tomorrow or Monday, even. What day would <em>you</em> like to come over? You’re the one who’s barely slept for a week.  What do you feel up to?”</p>
<p>He considered his options.  He knew he was still tired, but he also knew that Amanda’s family dinner time was six o’clock usually, so it’s not like he would be up super late even if he went over.  He remembered how much he had enjoyed Dotty’s chicken dinner on Thursday night and how much better he had felt just being around Amanda, so chances were, dinner tonight would help him recover from his tough week even more.</p>
<p>Plus, he finally admitted to himself, he just wanted to see Amanda.</p>
<p>“Well then, how about tonight?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Goodbye Yellow Brick Road </strong>by Bernie Taupin and Elton John</p>
<p>When are you gonna come down?<br/>When are you going to land?<br/>I should have stayed on the farm<br/>I should have listened to my old man</p>
<p>You know you can't hold me forever<br/>I didn't sign up with you<br/>I'm not a present for your friends to open<br/>This boy's too young to be singing<br/>The blues, ah, ah</p>
<p>So goodbye yellow brick road<br/>Where the dogs of society howl<br/>You can't plant me in your penthouse<br/>I'm going back to my plough</p>
<p>Back to the howling old owl in the woods<br/>Hunting the horny back toad<br/>Oh, I've finally decided my future lies<br/>Beyond the yellow brick road<br/>Ah, ah</p>
<p>What do you think you'll do then?<br/>I bet they'll shoot down the plane<br/>It'll take you a couple of vodka and tonics<br/>To set you on your feet again</p>
<p>Maybe you'll get a replacement<br/>There's plenty like me to be found<br/>Mongrels who ain't got a penny<br/>Sniffing for tidbits like you<br/>On the ground, ah, ah</p>
<p>So goodbye yellow brick road<br/>Where the dogs of society howl<br/>You can't plant me in your penthouse<br/>I'm going back to my plough</p>
<p>Back to the howling old owl in the woods<br/>Hunting the horny back toad<br/>Oh, I've finally decided my future lies<br/>Beyond the yellow brick road<br/><br/></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well, I certainly didn’t know this was going to be so long when I started it, but I was determined to write a Lee-centric story after talking virtually with Bruce Boxleitner at the end of December.  I feel kind of guilty about the quick case wrap-up at the end, but this story was always supposed to be about Lee’s emotional journey and growth toward accepting the love he has for Amanda, not the cases.  And we already know how those turned out, so I decided to let your brains fill in the rest.   This story idea was prompted by the Elton John song “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” because so much of it reminded me of Lee, and I just couldn’t resist the Wizard of Oz reference.  I actually prefer the live version sung by Sara Bareilles to Elton John’s since it’s more haunting than his (and you should start to notice a pattern here, since more than half of my L/A playlist is made up of her songs—so beware!). </p></blockquote></div></div>
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